Milk bottle carrying case



June 27, 1950 E R, ERlCKsQN 2,512,855

MILK 'BOTTLE CARRYING CASE f Filed Dec.V 13, 194e s sheets-sheet 1 June 27, 1950 Filed Dec. 15, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 E 50 c 4 6 E [64 n '24 74) 94 7c Q i 64 E 9e L725j (D 7o if 7a) 56 KI: l 96 42 /02 /oz 34 4 56 40 59 y V59 H (O 24" 22x lo 4o ze n 26 42 I 6' /6 320 54 f 40 \N G/ -4C, Q 28 June 27, 1950 E. R. ERICKSON 2,512,855

MILK BOTTLE CARRYING CASE Filed Dec. 15, 194s s sheets-sheet 5 L 5? 7156 '64 f' i' ,n

` Y /Z `l a /oz VQ) Qegy@ Q m [g2 i v f m @39% D@ E E y I@ C@ JQ* il if@ U @a1/Vm Patented June 27, i950 MILK BOTTLE CARRYING CASE Ernest R. Erickson, Des Moines, Iowa,assignor' to C. E. Erickson Company, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Application December 13, 1946, Serial No. l716,122

6 Claims. (Cl. 220-21) l My present invention relates to a bottle carrying case formed of light sheet metal, preferably aluminum or an alloy thereof.

One object of the invention is to provide a carrying case which is rugged in spite of its lightness, and which will stand much abuse and rough handling, and yet will adequately lprotect the bottles carried thereby against breakage.

Another object is to provide a milk bottle carrying case, the elements of which may be quickly formed insuitable dies and which may then be assembled with relation to each other in a minimum of time whereby the resulting bottle case is inexpensive from a manufacturing standpoint.

Still another object is to provide a milk bottle carrying case having certain wall elements, such as a bottom and a divider, formed of initially at sheets of metal provided with openings, the connecting strips between the openings being turned edgewise to vertical or semi-vertical positions in relation to the original plane of the sheet, for reinforcing purposes, the wall elements being thereby inexpensively formed in a press by punching rand. forming operations, and marginal peripheries of the sheet being further formed to provide vertical anges in some instances and channel-shaped elements in other instances for further reinforcing the Wall element-s and for serving as a connecting frame in relation to side and end wall elements of the case.

- A further object is to provide a practical divider type of wall element having a minimum of space between adjacent bottles o-r the like due to sheet metal divider elements turnedvertically on edge ,so that they present a spacing of only the sheet metal thickness between adjacent bottles, thereby minimizing the over-all width and length of a milk bottle carrying case provided with my type of divider.

Still a further object is to provide amilk bottle carrying case in which wall elements such as abottom and a divider are connected by end wall elements that serve also as corner posts, and rail members along the sides and spanning the distance between the end walls; the bottom, the divider and the rail members being connected with the end walls for providing a rigid structure wherein the various elements thereof mutually brace and reinforce each other against subsequent distortion after fabrication and during use of the case for its intended purpose.

An additional object is to provide the elements of the case so shaped that at points requiring additionalreinforcement and/ or where there is eX- cessive wear, two or three thicknee Of .meta/1 is had for reinforcing and wear resistant purposes, the design being such that a .plurality of the cases when loaded may be readily stacked in a truck, warehouse, or the like, in spite of the case being comparatively light in relation to the usual wooden type of case and thereby readily handled when stacking even tothe ceiling as, foundnecessary in many dairies between milk wagon runs.

Another additional object is to provide the end Walls formed with openings so shaped that convenient handles for carrying the case result, the upper edges of the openings'being rolled to provide a relatively wide handler that doesnt cut into the hand under the weight of filled bottles in the case. I

A further additional object is to provide rolled edges around the tops of the rail members and end walls which reinforce these edges, the rails being further reinforced by tubes inserted therein, which tubes may be-formed from the metal cut from the partition and bottom wall member and which is otherwise wasted.

Still a further additional object is to provide upstanding flanges on the bottom wall member to prevent small sized bottles from falling out of the case at this point, as when bottles smaller than those for which the case is designed are placed in the case.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangey ment and combination of the various parts of my case whereby the foregoing objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a perspective view of a milk bottle carrying case embodying my present invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation thereof partially on the vertical section line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the elements of the case adjacent an upper corner thereof.

Figure 4 is a side elevation partially on the vertical section line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a bottom perspective view showing the construction of one end of the case.

Figure 6 is a plan view of my carrying case.

Figure '7 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 1-1 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 8-8 of Figure 6, and

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 9 9 of Figure 6, showing only the bottom member of the case.

On the accompanying' drawings, -I have used the reference character B to indicate a bottom member, D a divider member, and E an end wall member. ln addition to these members a pair of side rails S are provided, which four members (including 2 end members E and two of the side members S) constitute the main framework of milk bottle carrying case.

Each bottom wall. member B` comprises a sheet of metal with three types of openings formed therein, which are as follows:

Openings II) are substantially round, openings I2 are substantially oblong, and openings I4 are substantially square. These openings are formed somewhat smaller than shown inv Figure 6 and the connecting strips between them indicated at I6 are alternately tipped in opposite directions as shown in Figure 8. Wherethe strips I6 cross each other (indicated at I8) the cross-section appears as in Figure 9 with the cross elements i8 alternately dished upwardly and downwardly whenA viewed in the direction of the arrows for the section line 9l andY which have the appearance of being dished the opposite way when viewed on a section line at right angles to the arrows for the section line 9 9. Thus a flat sheet ofmetal is perforatedand the elements I6 and I8` formed to result'in a wall element of considerable strength due to the various angles and curvatures assumed by the connecting strips IS, l

andthe cross elements- I8.

The lbottom 4member B along its sideedges is formed with downturnedvertical anges 2l! (see Figure 2) and upstanding vertical fingers 22 formed by the material out out of the openings I4., The fingers 22 serve as guard members to prevent small bottlesfrom falling out of the case when they are placed therein. The case is designed for large bottles such as quart size and sometimes the grocer or dairyman puts smaller bottles in the case. The smallest of these can fall out of the side of the case if the ngers 22 are not provided.

In some cases the milk bottle carrying case is filled with cracked ice above the divided D and around the necks of the bottles. To prevent the ice from melting rapidly it is desirable that circulation below the divider be prevented. rIfhis may be by the use ofjiiller plates 24 having lower andv upper reinforcing ilanges 6I and 63 and reinforcing beads 59. Ordinarily the ller plates are not supplied with the case but maybe provided if desired by the customer purchasing the case. In that event, they would be secured in position as by rivets 26.

I n theevent thata customer-has cases that are 1 not provided with theller plates 24 and desires to add these plates to his cases the plates and rivets can be furnished and the plates readily installed and held in position by inserting the rivets and riveting them in position. y

The vert-ical lianges terminate in inturned horizontal flanges 28 or in other words the sides ofv the bottom member B are channel-shaped. The ends of the bottom member B- are provided with vertical flanges 38 corresponding to the flanges 20 as shown in-Figure4. The elements 28, 28and- 3U thereby constitute a reinforcing frame for the bottom member B which frame is connected with the rest of the case asv/ill be hereinafter disclosed.

kThe divider member D has downturned vertical lflanges along its sides indicated at 34, and inturned horizontal lianges 36 (see Figure 2) corresponding/to the flanges 20 and 28. The divider member also has downturned vertical flanges 38 75 4 at its ends corresponding to the flanges 30 (see Figure 4). The channels 34--36 and the flanges 38 thereby constitute a frame for the divider D.

Each end member E comprises a flat Wall element 48 having its vertical edges bent to form flanges 42. lThe flanges 42 are riveted to the iianges S of the divider member D by rivets 44. The iianges 42 have offset lower ends 42a riveted to the anges 2li-by means of rivets 46. The oiset at 42a is provided for permitting end anges 48 of an end reinforcing member R to be also riveted. by the rivets 46, with the outer faces of the flanges 48 ush with the outer faces of the flanges 42.

The reinforcing members R as shown in Figure 4 (lower right corner) have vertical flanges 5o, horizontal ianges-SZ, and vertical flanges 53. The iianges 52 have right :angle extensions 52a at the bottom edges of the flanges 48. The end wall d8 as shown in this figure is provided with an offset 40a at its lower end similar to the offset 132e, to permit flush relationship of the elements 4i! and 50. Rivets EAareprovided for connecting the flanges 3l), 40a. and 5I! together. The end wall elements 48 are providedwith several reinforcing beads 56 for the purpose of strengthening the otherwise iiat plate. The cross-section for these beads is shown in Figure 4, and the beads have been omitted from Figure 1 to avoid excessive detail.

Each side rail S comprises a wall member 58 having end anges 60. The flanges 6l! arerriveted to the end wall member E at 62, and the walls 58 are riveted to the flanges 42 at 64. On four of the rivets 82 and 64 I also provide fittings BIiof angle shape in horizontal cross-section, and terminating in reduced upper ends B8 constituting indexing pegs for one case in relation to another case stacked thereon, as shown in Figure 4. The indexing pegs B8 iit within the corner of the next above case at the position shown by dotted lines in Figure 5. The anges 28a, 32, 52 and 52a constitute socketsvforthe pegs of the next lower case.

The side rails S are reinforced by inturned flanges 'I0 on the walls 58 and inturned anges I2 along the flanges 6D. Furtherreinforcement is provided by rolling the upper edge of the wall 58 as shown at 'I4 in Figure 2, and byfproviding in-struck beads T6 and 18. Openings 80 are formed in the side members S and the upper edges of these openings are rolled as indicated at 82. The horizontal lower edges and the vertical end edges are folded overas at 84 so there is no sharp edge around the opening The rolled edges 82 may when desired serve as hand holds, although usually the case is grasped at the ends.

For the purpose of providing-handles for carrying the case, the end members E are provided with openings 8E rolled along their top edges as at 88 and folded in along'the sidel edges as at SII (see Figure 4). The top edges of the wall members 4E are also rolled as at 92 and a bead 93 is formed between the rolls 88 and 92 for reinforcing purposes.

The rolled edges 14, 82, 88 and 92 are additionally reinforced by tubes 94 inserted therein and the ends of the rolls are then closed so as to exclude dirt and vermin. The tubes 84 are made of material that is otherwise wasted, such material lbeing that which is cut from the square openings 96 formed in the divider member D.

As to the construction of the divider member itself, it is somewhat'simila-r to the bottom member except that it has the openings 9B allof the same square shape. These openings are somewhat smaller than shown in Figure 6 due to the connecting members 98 being turned edgewise after the openings are punched; The connecting members 98 thereby presenta minimum ofsep- -aration between milk bottles, such separation being represented by the thickness oi the lmetal itself and therefore the overall dimension of the milk case can be minimized as distinguished from those types of dividers that require connecting members of considerable thickness The cross members iil where the connecting members 98 cross each other are formed similar to the connecting members I8 already described. These are best shown in Figure '7.

A milk bottle carrying case formed in accordance with my invention is very rugged in construction yet light in weight. It has a number of advantages among which might be mentioned minimum size for its capacity, suitable for either square or round milk bottles, and a construction that is easy to handle and readily adapts itself to be packed with crushed ice.

Milk carrying cases are subject to much rough handling and wear. When stacked in a truck a hooked rod is usually used to pull a stack of the cases toward the back of the truck where they maybe removed. Then the weight of the entire stack is imposed on one point of the bottom case, that point being where the hook engages the case. The four reinforcements for the sides and ends at 14, 82, 88 and 92 are sui'licient to prevent these members from bending when a pull-out rod is used in this manner.

The flanges 28 and 52 constitute the lowermost surfaces of the case and take the wear caused by dragging the case across a truck bed or along a concrete floor of the dairy. Referring to Figure 4 it will be noted that the flange 28 has offset ends 28a to assume a position above the flange 52 so that the bottoms of the flanges 28 and 52 are flush with each other.

The cases are readily stacked with the indexing pegs 68 preventing any horizontal movement of one case in relation to the next above case. When the milk bottles are empty sometimes the storekeeper puts smaller bottles than the maximum size in the case and the bottom member B is so formed that it will prevent these bottles from falling on through due to the small size of the openings I0, I2 and i4 and the positioning of a cross-portion I8 at the center of each divider opening 96.

The various elements of the case can be readily fabricated in punching and fo-rming presses and the assembly of the parts involves only a riveting operation. In addition to the rivets thus far mentioned, the end flanges 38 of the divider member D are riveted to the end walls 4l] at |02. The connecting elements 98 of the divider member D merely separate the bottles from each other and take some side stresses due to the inertia and momentum of the :bottles as the case is alternately moved and stopped in a horizontal plane. Accordingly, the elements 96 can be vertical to min,- imize space and will yet have sufficient strength (particularly in tension when an attempt is made to bend any of them) for the purpose of serving as dividers between the bottles.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my bottle case without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover b-y my claims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalent which may be reasonably included withintheir scope. I claim as my invention: .l

l. A bottle 'carrying case of the character disclosed comprising a pair of wall elements having openings formed therein and the material thereof .between said openings in elongated strip form and turned out of the planes of the wall elements, and wall members connecting said wall elements in-.verti'cally lspaced relation, the turned-out strip material of one of said wall elements being at an angle relative to the vertical to serve as supports for bottles in the case, and the turned-out strip material of the other of said wall elements being vertical to serve as vertical divider stri-ps between such bottles and the material of said one of said Wall elements between all pairs of openings therein which are diagonal to each other being substantially centered with relation to the openings in said other wall member.

2. In a :carrying case for bottles and the like, a bottom member, a divider member, a pair of rails, and a pair of end wall members connecting the foregoing members and rails together in spaced relation, at least one of said members comprising a single sheet of metal having rectangular openings formed therein with elongated metal strips only of the sheet between said openings twisted to positions out of the plane of the sheet and the material of the sheet positioned among any four of said openings being U-shape in diagonal cross section and inverted U-shape in cross section at right angles to said diagonal cross section.

3. In a carrying case or the like, horizontal wall elements spaced vertically from each other, vertical end walls connecting said horizontal walls together, rails connected with said end Walls and spaced from said wall elements, one of said wall elements constituting a .bottom member and the other a divider member, one of said wall elements being formed of sheet metal provided with openings and the sheet metal between said openings twisted out of the plane of the sheet, said one of said wall elements having crossing portions diagonally between said openings which are downcurved in diagonal cross section andv upcurved in cross section at right angles thereto.

4. A carrying case for milk bottles comprising a bottom member, a divider member, rails, and end walls connecting the foregoing members and rails together in spaced relation, said Ibottom member comprising a sheet of metal having openings formed therein with strip-like portions of the metal of the sheet between said openings twisted out of plane of the sheet, said bottom member having pieces of the material cut from some of said openings bent upwardly along straight lines at the edges of the openings to form guards.

5. A wall member for a carrying case of the character disclosed comprising a horizontal sheet of metal having openings formed therein and the metal between the openings twisted out of the plane of the sheet to substantially vertical positions, the crossing portions of -said metal between the openings being U-shape in diagonal crosssection and inverted U-shape in diagonal crosssection at right angles thereto.

6. A wall member of the character disclosed comprising a sheet of metal having rectangular openings formed therein, with elongated strips only of the sheet metal remaining between the openings and being twisted out of the plane of the sheet, the crossing portions of said strips at the corners only of said rectangular openings .smsen-s ber.

ERNEST R. ERICKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number 8 UNI'IED STATESPATENTS.` v

Name Date Schaefer Jan. 22, 1895 Mathy July-16., 19,01 Klenk July 3, `H506 Repetto Dec, 10, n190'! vWaldman Mar. 27, 1917 Jones Mar. 5, `1918 Buhl Aug. 11,1836

' Lndell Dec. 8,1936 

